By Cassidy Napier
Jessamine County FFA reporter
For the Jessamine Journal
The Jessamine County Future Farmers of America will celebrate National FFA Week from Feb. 16 – 23 which embraces more than 91 years of FFA traditions and looks forward to the organization’s future.
National FFA Week is a week where students and teachers alike can enjoy and celebrate what FFA has to offer.
Nearly 670,000 members will participate in National FFA Week activities at local, state and national levels. These members have a passion for agriculture. Designated a national week in 1947, the week of George Washington’s birthday, National FFA Week runs from Saturday to Saturday and gives FFA members an opportunity to educate the public about agriculture. During the week, chapters conduct a variety of activities to help others in their school and community learn about FFA and agricultural education.
Throughout the year, the Jessamine county FFA does many things for the community which includes working with the community, FFA Alumni, different competitions and classroom activities.
All of these things fit into the Three Circle Model of the FFA. In the classroom instruction sector, Jessamine County agricultural education participates in a large variety of curricular activities. One example is the environmental science students participating in an aquaponics research study with Kentucky State University.
The Jessamine County FFA has an alumni chapter, and the two work together on various events throughout the year. The Alumni Chili Supper is one of those events, and students take charge of the silent auction items, setting up for the event and help serve food. This event raises money for the alumni which goes back to the FFA in the form of scholarships.
The Jessamine County FFA has been very successful in a multitude of competitions at the National Level. A group of students and advisors recently traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for the National FFA Convention and Expo in October.
In Jessamine County, not every family has what they need. The Jessamine County FFA hosts a Thanksgiving Food Drive annually to help families in Jessamine County. This past year the food drive collected more than 18,000 items.